Baker's Apprentice
by Helen The Lizard
Summary: The story follows an apprentice of a baker who recently moved into the city-state of Vesuvia. While living there she will go on strange adventures, solve mysteries about herself, and learn amazing recipes.
1. Chapter 1

I'm a nineteen-year-old girl named Helen, and every day I wake up at dawn to help my teacher setup shop. The shop is a bakery I work in, called Succulent Sweets, and the person who owns the bakery is my teacher whose name is Bartlett.

Today my teacher left a note telling me to get some pomegranates, pears, and the largest pumpkins I could find at the marketplace. After reading I take a quick shower, dress myself, grab the note and my purse to head out to the marketplace. When I reach the marketplace, I quickly glance at all the interesting shops before searching for a stall selling fresh produce. It takes me a few minutes to find one full of fantastic specimens of pomegranates, pears, and pumpkins. I'm about to walk over there when I accidentally bump into a man.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I whisper shout in anxiety while looking up at the tall, dark, hooded man. I brace myself to be yelled at by the man, but all he does is glare down at me with surprisingly bright green eyes. I can't help but feel a little awestruck by the brilliance of his eyes while feeling complete terror of how angry he could possibly be.

"Be more careful next time." The man tells me in his gravelly voice before walking away from me. I stand there a bit in a daze as the man disappeared, leaving a faint scent of myrrh behind.

"What was I doing again?" I looked around myself and remembered I was supposed to get the items my teacher had listed, and so I did. Intent on becoming a mature and dependable apprentice to my teacher as much as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: This story taking place after The Apprentice completes their route with Asra. Also, I've edited this chapter a little because of grammar errors. -30/1/2019_

* * *

I returned to Succulent Sweets holding a large basket that the produce stall owner graciously loaned to me to carry one pumpkin, four pomegranates, and ten pears. My teacher comes out of the back door that the kitchen is connected to with a beaming face, "Helen there you are! Did you get a great deal today?"

"Yes, I brought three pumpkins for ten pieces of gold today. But I only have one with me right now, the other two are back at the stall. I'll go get them in a bit." I informed him as I walked past him and into the kitchen to set the basket on top of the designated table we use specifically for our work.

"Helen, want to take a look at this before you head out again." My teacher says as he walks over to me while holding a plate that had an amazing cake on top it. The cake had chocolate cream around the sides with gorgeous craftsmanship of edible succulent plants on top.

"That's amazing! How did you do that sir?!" I ask him while analyzing the textures and patterns of the cake. "Is that coffee by the way?" I pointed out to him while leaning in closer.

"Yep, used some of my specially blended grinds to balance the sweetness out! Also, Helen, you know you can always call me Bart?" My teacher tells me while scratching the side of his face a little and setting the cake down on the other table we use for dining. He turns away looking a bit awkward. In turn it makes me feel out of place with the way I address to him.

"Haha, sorry, I forgot that formalities isn't the way you roll." I mumbled out loud while heating up from how nervous I felt. "Would you, like to teach me the recipe of how to make that cake later? If you're not too busy tha—." I didn't get to finish my sentence when the front door bell rings, notifying us that a customer has entered.

"Of course, Helen, now off you go now!"

With that I left as quickly as possible, to avoid any more awkwardness I could possibly cause.

* * *

Later in the day, I've returned the basket to the produce seller. Which is stupid on my end because I could've used it right about now. And although pumpkins aren't hard to carry individually, unless if there's two of them, it doesn't change the fact that they can be extremely heavy. It also doesn't help that it's almost midday which means the marketplace is much busier and a little hotter than earlier. I almost feel like I'm drowning in a sea of sweat and humidity in a stone box where none of the sea breeze could possibly reach me. Looking for the closest way to escape the crowd, I jogged over to a nearby doorway hoping that it'll give me temporary shelter from the sun's heat. When I reached the doorway, I leaned my back into it to relax for a second. Instead of relaxing, I fell backwards onto my back in pain.

"Shit, shit, are you two ok?" I mumbled to the pumpkins while turning them all around to check if they're bruised or cracked. After checking the two pumpkins, I gently put the aside so I could stand up and dust myself off. While dusting myself off, I surveyed my surroundings and concluded that I must be in a tea shop. At least that's what I hope it is, because there was also scents of incense being burned which makes me feel concern if I found myself in an area of worship.

"Hello, do you need some help?" The owner of the shop asked with wide eyes full of surprise.

 _Well, this is terrifying._ Is the first thought that pops inside my head before I reply while laughing nervously, "No, I accidentally fell into your store. Sorry about that." I look away in discomfort of what I've gotten myself into.

"No worries, would you like some tea? You look like you need it." A man with curly white hair appears next to the store owner. He wraps an arm around the store and gives them a peck before he looks over to me with a friendly smile.

"Oh, you don't have to! Honestly, I feel like I'm the one who should probably give you something!" I exclaimed, my voice cracking a little because I'm completely terrified. At this point I've started picking up the two pumpkins off the floor and inch my way backwards. The two of them look at one another and waved a goodbye at me, and I bowed my head to them in response since I couldn't wave back at them without dropping a pumpkin. When I closed the door, I darted back into the crowd to go back home. Hopefully the pumpkins and me don't run into another accident where I drop them.


	3. Chapter 3

I've finally arrived safely at home with my pumpkins.

I sat down my pumpkins and thought about upcoming events. When my mind drifts to the topic of colors, today I'm feeling red and what better way to express that then a pomegranate pastry!

I preheat the oven and butter two pans. Then I prepare the pomegranates and set aside, in a different clean bowl I combine the flour, sugar, baking soda pomegranate seeds and other seasonings and spices, making sure everything is well combined. I then cream together my butter and sugar with some vanilla, pouring my creamed wet mixture into my dry flour and spices I mix 'til just combined.

Finally, I picked up the muffin pans, spooning the batter in and putting them into the oven for twenty-five minutes.

Lastly, when the muffins were almost cooled, I took each bread and coated them in a mixture of cinnamon and coarse sugar.

But it turns out that the corse sugar has replaced with hardcore drugs—-???!

I blackout.

Someone found me later that day in a puddle of my out puke, how disgustingly in character.

Dolph's pet Daogu, a little bastard cat, had put those drugs there. Dolph walks in, "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," a drum set heard in the background. (Badum pshhh) Fade to darkness, god my eyes are failing me.

I woke up again in my puke; it's tragic. Why is this happening to me? I'm supposed to be a reliable apprentice, not in my vomit.

"Helen! Are you alright??" My teacher screamed in terror into my face. I felt horrible because whatever was in that messed me up hardcore.

"I am scared." I replied in a slur while feeling gravity's effects big time.

"It's going to be okay; I'm going to get you to a doctor, and we're going to get you checked up. So stay here for a second so I can turn off everything and close the shop." Mr. Bartlett told me while rolling me away from my vomit, then walking off to do as he said.

I laid there on my sides, feeling pretty dumb and useless. Trying not to focus on how pathetic of a situation, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When I finally woke up for the second time this day, I found myself in my bed under a hefty pile of blankets. I feel so relaxed that I want to go to sleep again, no, I need to get up and do something.

"Thank you so much for coming over and treating my apprentice. It'd be an honor if you'd take some of these muffins with you as a gift!" Mr. Bartlett offers the ones I made to the store owner I saw earlier on my shopping trip. The person smiles and takes the baked goods he provides to them.

"She should take this for the next two days until her nausea goes away, remember to keep her from accidentally ingesting any more of the crushed crystals of dried fungus." The white-haired man that accompanies the shop owner advises Mr. Bartlett with a soft smile.

The shop owner made eye contact with me when they noticed my attention, causing me to turn my head away nervously. The feeling of dread begins to form a not inside my guts.

"Hello Helen, your teacher has told us quite a bit about you. My name is Asra; you should visit our store sometime that way, my lover, and I can educate you about the local herbs in this region." The white-haired man who I now know is Asra suggests to me while taking a seat next to my bed with his partner.

"Sure, just, give me a while to get used to you both." I grumbled, feeling cornered by the new people being in the way of my only escape route. Nowhere to escape left me with faking my comfortability to hide how intimidated I feel by this situation.

"Take all the time you need. Just remember to pop by sometime for an introduction of herbs and spices at our shop." Asra reminds me while a snake slithers out from his shirt and rests itself around his shoulders. Seeing that happen, I couldn't help but burst out laughing because the snake looked so cute and calm, crawling up out of his shirt.

"Faust seems to be very interested in you, Helen. See you soon." Asra remarks with a weird look in his eyes that freaked me out while his lover waved bye to my teacher and me as they both leave the room to go home.

"Mr. Bartlett, I'm fucking scared of that guy." I said with a deep frown.

"Don't be! He's the most trustworthy magician in the city! He's also well known to be trusted by our beautiful countess." Mr. Bartlett told me, trying to stick up for Asra and not make me scared of the guy, I guess.

"Fine, I'm going to sleep now, Mr.Bartlett." I said in submission before I laid back down into the bed.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Some moron yelled at me. Oh, I must be in a dream. I thought to myself as I walked away from the moronic person who had pissed me off after throwing their shoes at me. Whoever they are, I hate them so much that my heart is racing, and I physically can feel myself suffocating here in my dream and my actual body too. I can't even look back to see who it is because I know I might choke and feel my chest tighten even more if I did.

I continue to walk wherever I'm going in the black void that gradually becomes my old high school but with taller ceilings and broader halls with connected bathrooms of the boys and girls.

I am wandering past the bathrooms and out of the school building. Only to find me at the ocean where there is a wall of sand as tall as me behind my back and the tides only a few feet away from me. There's a ship off in the distance. When I take a step forward to see if I could get a better look at the boat, everything around me shifts and morphs into my bedroom, where Asra and his lover were treating me.

"Oh, time to do some problem-solving." I mumbled to myself while walking around the couple to observe their behavior. I walk behind the pair looking at their backs, noticing that Fraust had wiggled out of Asra's collar to look at me. Just enough for an inch of Fraust's neck be above the collar.

"Hey there, girl or I guess boy? Life must be tough when you can't produce your heat, right?" I said to the snake while petting it gently between its eyes. Fraust hisses back at me, which I can only assume they agree with me.

"Are you this nice in real life too?" I asked Fraust with a laugh as I pulled my hand away.

"She is, and you came to hang out with us like expected." Asra said to me while turning around and spooking all my wits out of me.

"What the fuck?!" I freaked out and backed up seven feet away from him.

"Asra, doesn't she remind you of someone?" His lover commented while covering their mouth to stifle their laughter.

"She does, but nowhere close to his dramatics." Asra noted with an eye roll. "Your gate is somewhat enigmatic of a maze, Helen. Very, moody." he adds while looking around with a hand on his chin.

 _Wow, thanks_. I thought to myself, feeling a bit irked. "This is all a dream, so fuck you and go away." I grumbled while turning away from them to walk downstairs.

"You're a complicated person, aren't you, Helen?" Asra says to me, profoundly sighing in exasperation.

"I'm not, I'm just stupid and weird. Now fuck off, I'm going back to that beach to bury some jellyfish that dried out in the sun — offerings to whatever gods that are out there." I said more so to myself than to any of them.

The scene abruptly ended there because I woke up to someone poking me in the cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

"Will you stop it?" I asked as I bolted upwards and rubbed my eyes.

Waking up, I saw Mr. Bartlett poking my face. "Great, you're up! Today I want you to go out and meet new people."

I felt like he was trying to push me out into the painful outside world. "I'm not sure if you're calling me a loser or if you're concerned about my safety, " I retorted as I got a change of clothes and headed to the shower.

As Mr. Bartlett turned to leave, he explained himself, "I'm worried about you. I'll retire someday and travel the world with my drinking buddies, and you'll be here all alone with no one to watch out for you. You should take the week off, try and explore the town a bit."

"Are you sure, what if you need my help?" I grabbed my toothbrush and a jar of toothpaste hastily, ready to pack and leave."

"Helen, I've got my buddies from the pub willing to help me if I holler! These muscles I've got aren't just for show either. I can easily pull a whole cart full of supplies home on my own." My teacher stated while he flexed his whole body, a physique he maintained well into his 40's.

"Ok, have a good day, then Mr. Bartlett," I told him as he left. Thinking about what he said, he has a point. I've been here for three months, and I don't have any friends besides Mr. Bartlett.

After bathing, dressing, brushing my teeth, and depositing my clothes in the laundry hamper, I set off to explore the Central District.

I've been there multiple times for the marketplace, but I heard there's a shop there famous for their magic books, ingredients, and fortune-telling. But it looks like Mr. Bartlett didn't mark where the famous shop is.

"Hello, could I ask you something, sir?" I said after tapping on the shoulder of a red-haired man that was walking in front of me.

An oddly dramatic and flirtatious voice came from the man as he turned to look down, "How can I help, miss?"

I tried not to stare, but I was a bit taken back from the strange voice and eye patch. "Um, yes, could you tell me how to find the famous fortune-telling shop?"

"It must be fate, I'm going that way too, we could travel together," Mr. redhead says as he attempts to wink at me.

Stifling a laugh, I introduced myself before asking for his name.

He dramatically flares his arms out in a showman like fashion, "I'm a former fugitive doctor, Julian Devorak, you could call me Jules."

"Nice to meet you, Jules.", I said with a snicker at his gesture.

"Likewise to you, Helen.", Jules attempts to wink at me once more before abruptly stopping, causing me to almost walk into him.

"Our destiny awaits us, miss," He announces and bows deeply while he pulls the door open in a theatrical way. I can't help but snort a little while laughing at his silliness and choking out a thank you.

As we walk into the store, a man comes out from the back to greet us.

"Not this prick again," I thought as I looked at Asra's eyes. The shop owner appears right behind him and waves at Jules and me with a welcoming smile.

Jules joyfully goes to the couple with a giant smile and open arms, "I've missed you! How's it been?"

"We've missed you too, Julian. Would you like to have some tea with us? Asra and Helen look like they need a moment," the shop owner smiles at Jules, leaving me a bit confused at what she had said. I didn't want a moment with Asra. Looking over to my redheaded companion, hoping he would notice my plea and take me with him, but instead, Jillian seemed to be too preoccupied with thoughts of a warm drink and friendly company, so he left me.

I cursed loudly, and Asra raises an eyebrow at me. "I was looking forward to exploring the shop, but seeing your face--ruined my day, " I try to swallow down my anger.

Asra smirks with a spiteful look in his eyes; I feel the frustration morph into slight confusion. "Helen, would you like to learn about herbs within Vesuvia and the nearby dark forest?" He asks with a friendlier smile.

I wondered why he was asking until I remembered the blackout I had yesterday and quickly agreed. As Asra recommends going to the back and rejoins Jules and the shopkeep, I try my best to smooth things out as my ego cracks.

Hopefully, I can get on friendlier terms instead of fucking this up.

As Asra was finishing up his explanation on edible herbs I could consume raw without any preparation or processing, he inhales the refreshing mint tea.

During Asra's lesson, Jules kept whispering jokes to the shopkeeper and stacking boxes of tea in front of me to distract me.

"Helen, tomorrow we will continue our introductory lesson in the dark forest. I want you to pack some snacks and a large bag to carry the herbs in." Asra told me as he continued to sip more tea.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and stretching in my seat.

Area smiles and sets down his tea. "By the way, you muffins tasted great. Could you make some more and bring them on the trip?" He asks, petting Faust.

I nodded again and mumbled, "Thank you and yes."

"Oh, it's about time for me to go!" Jules exclaims as he gets up to do a deep bow towards the shopkeep. "It was amazing to be acquainted with you, Helen." Jules gives me a smirk before leaving us in a flashy fashion.

Looking out a window, I noticed the sun had begun to set. I start to worry a bit about how I should get home since the city looks different at night compared to the day, and it doesn't help that my new acquaintance has left me before I could ask for help again. The shopkeep who saw my distress offered me if I wanted help getting home, I was about to accept, but my gut compelled me to decline. So I waved goodbye and left.

I'm a bit flighty as a person, but something is stressing me out by staying there for too long.

The feeling of stress or dread eased off me when I stepped out of the store, but it was still strong. Trying to ignore the internal sinking feeling, I began a brisk pace to wherever home is while keeping my mind clear.


	6. Chapter6

I arrived home safely that night, and the feeling of dread while leaving that magic shop was just a rough bowel movement. Knowing why I felt dread, the day came to a decent conclusion in where I prepped for the next day.

The next day came, I woke up and gathered all the things necessary for the events of today.

It was a peaceful day as I left the bakery and arrived at the magic shop, but something fell on my head from above the door. Cussing in terror and surprise, I realized it was Fraust, the snake that fell on top of my head. "Holy fuck Fraust, I know you like adventuring, but why jump out a window??" I scolded the snake that decided to hang out on my shoulders.

"She wanted to surprise you!" Asra called out from a window above me.

"Well, it worked!" I shouted back, irked, thenI got scared again by the shopkeep who poked me hard in the stomach. "OH MY GOD WHAT DID I DO TO YOU PEOPLE?" I screamed in anguish from all these attacks while the shopkeeper giggled at me.

"Calm down, Helen. We all realized how fun it is to tease you." The shopkeeper told me as they poked me a little softer than the first time.

"You have fun reactions." Asra stated, stepping out of the store door. His statement somehow earns a slap on the back from the shopkeeper.

"I'm scared, but I need friends and a guide." I tell them that as my voice cracks, but this only encourages them to harass me further.

———————————

Later, after an hour, I hiked with them to the front of the dark forest. I hoped the forest's name wouldn't be so literal, but it was, and began to wonder if I'll die today by the hands of the couple guiding me. Asra looks over his shoulder at me, making me wonder if he heard my thoughts. Instead, he casts a spell that makes Fraust glow and tells her to pair up with me. Maybe my guide has a heart for me, after all?

We marched further into the forest until the foliage got so thick we had to push it out of the way. At some point of the hike, we'd stop so that Asra could teach me about herbs and mushrooms. There were moments I'd get attacked by chickens because I clumsily walk into them, or too close to their nest, besides that the forest is nice. Gradually the foliage thins out and we find ourselves in a clearing nearby a small hut with a tree growing around it. Asra walks up to the door and knocks on it, looking back at me and telling me to pull the pomegranate muffins out.

As I pull the muffins out, the small door opens to reveal a tall ass guy with dark hair and green eyes. Looking at him from head to toe I began to wonder about his existence; like how is someone as big as him, fit in a hut that small? How much food is he eatinto be so buff? What's his workouts? Can I ever be as tall as him??? Am I doomed to be a shrimp compared to this massive Goliath????

"Helen, this is Muriel. Muriel, this is Helen.", Asra introduces me to the dark haired giant, who looks down at me with a raised eyebrow.

It took me a minute to fully regain myself from the crisis over my height to finally say hello and give the bag of muffins to Muriel.

"Why is she here?", Muriel asks, his voice sounding like the low rolling thunders of a storm, it makes me weirdly calm. Calm enough to stare at the wandering flock of chickens on the edges of the clearing around the hut and tune out Asra's explanation and the conversation that followed. I decide to walk slowly to the flock, careful not to spook them as they forage for their daily bits of bugs, and seeds or grain. There was one in particular that interested me, a large black laced hen that had beautiful red feathers standing next to the flock's rooster, a bastard that stares at me with suspicion. The rooster attempted to assert dominance by staring me down, I narrowed my eyes and stared that bastard down as I walked closer to him and the hen. I took a big step towards the bastard rooster, making him cluck in alarm and run into the forest in tow with the hens.

I felt some pride for scaring that bastard off, but that feeling was replaced with embarrassment when I heard Asra laugh. As I regain my composure and turn around, Asra shouts to me asking what I was just doing. Breathing a little through my nostrils to calm down a bit, I decided to shrug instead of saying anything, so I could look cooler than I felt.

Noticing that Muriel is staring at me for a while, I wave at him to see if he wants something, but he looks away, as if he was embarrassed watching me act like an idiot. I feel tempted to fight them, but that's not the right thing and I need them to get myself adjusted to Vesuvia. I want to have a better person because I need to.

Taking a shallow breath in before I rejoin them, I ignore the numbness I felt from within.

———————————

Asra re-explained the plan he made with Muriel and his shopkeeper, who I found out is his wife. I don't understand how we got to that bit but it's whatever.

The plan they made for me is two weeks long and involves me hanging out one-on-one each day with different people: Asra will teach me the basics of herbalism and spices, his wife will guide me around town, and Muriel is going to guide me in the forest. The plan sounds great, but it makes me shed tears on the inside because I'm kind of scared and nervous around them.

"Helen, what're your thoughts?" Asra asks while smiling at me. I can feel that he's expecting me to agree enthusiastically, but I can only nod and softly smile back at him and fight back the anxiety. Asra smiles even more and gets up and tells us he's going out to collect some ingredients for dinner, his wife, and Muriel follows after him to help. I got up to go help them, but I realized it'd be better if I don't, so I sat back down. This left me alone with Fraust who stared at me in a comfortable silence. At some point of the silence I wanted to talk to Fraust about things, but there's no point, even if she could understand me she can't say anything back.

I feel hopeless and lonely in a foreign world. I could feel the burning sensation of tears coming out, but I don't want to cry again, so I decided to lay down in the pile of fur blackest on the ground for a nap.


	7. End

Sorry, I don't see this story going anywhere. Maybe in a distant future I'll write better and continue this. But thanks, for reading this last chapter.


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